COULD MINING HELIUM-3 FROM THE MOON SOLVE EARTH’S ENERGY PROBLEMS?

Could a rare gas collected from the moon provide the answer to Earth’s energy problems? Many scientists believe helium-3 could provide us with all the power we need for 10,000 years. Even now, NASA and start-ups like Planetary Resources (a venture of James Cameron and Google billionaires Larry Page and Eric Schmidt) are looking into tapping this extraterrestrial resource…Continue reading>>inhabitat.com

CHINA IS GOING TO MINE THE MOON FOR HELIUM-3 FUSION FUEL

One of the main reasons helium-3 is sought as a fusion fuel is because there are no neutrons generated as a reaction product. The protons that do get generated have charge, and can therefore be safely contained using electromagnetic fields. Early dreamers imagined that Saturn or Jupiter would be the ideal places to try and get their hands on some helium-3, but it now appears that the Chinese have set their sights on the Moon…. Although the Sun dispenses ample amounts of helium-3 wherever it blows, the Earth is largely shielded from this windfall by its own magnetic field. The little we do have is mostly generated by various…Continue Reading>>extremetech.com

THE MOON COULD MEET THE WORLD’S ENERGY NEEDS FOR THE NEXT 10,000 YEARS

Mining the moon to meet our energy needs may sound like the plot from a sci-fi movie, but China is considering doing exactly that. Helium 3 is an extremely valuable isotope that could be used in clean fusion plants to generate energy – and it’s available in vast quantities on the moon. Some scientists say that the moon is so rich in Helium 3 that it could solve the world’s energy problems for at least 10,000 years…Continue Reading>>inhabitat.com

CHINA IS TAKING LUNAR MINING SERIOUSLY

China’s plans to return to the moon early 2020s. Filling one shuttle’s cargo bay with helium-3 could bring the equivalent energy of 1bn barrels of oil back to earth…Continue reading>>mining.com

Moon Power: China’s Pursuit of Lunar Helium-3

ByFabrizio Bozzato / June 16, 2014

As the world’s largest energy consumer, China is deeply aware of the imperative of addressing its energy trilemma – how to simultaneously achieve and balance energy security, energy equity (access and affordability), and environmental sustainability – in the coming decades, and is determined to develop clean and unconventional power to quench its thirst for energy. Indeed, powering an economy the size of China’s, especially by mid-century, solely by burning massive quantities of finite fossil fuels and relying on conventional nuclear power is not a viable option. For this reason, China is devoting considerable resources to the most futuristic and elusive of unconventional energies: nuclear fusion…Continue reading>> thediplomat.com

Could The Moon Fuel Earth For 10,000 Years? China Says Mining Helium From Our Satellite May Help Solve The World’s Energy Crisis

5 August 2014

The lunar dirt brought back by mankind’s first moonwalkers contained an abundance of titanium, platinum and other valuable minerals.

But our satellite also contains a substance that could be of even greater use to civilisation – one that could revolutionise energy production.